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Grant County, Kentucky
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,662. Its county seat is Williamstown. The county was formed in 1820 and named for Colonel John Grant, who led a party of settlers in 1779 to establish Grant's Station, in today's Bourbon County, Kentucky. Grant County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grant County is a limited dry county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited, except in Crittenden, Corinth, Dry Ridge and Williamstown, where it is legal by the drink in restaurants seating at least 100 diners and deriving at least 70% of total sales from food. In the 19th century, Grant County contained multiple saloons. The Grant County News, established in 1906 and published in Williamstown, is preserved on microfilm by the University of Kentucky Libraries. The microfilm holdings are listed in a master negative database on the UK Libraries Preservation and Digital Programs website.http://lib.uky.edu/repro/ History Grant County was established in 1820 from land taken from Pendleton County. The present courthouse, built in 1939, replaced two earlier structures. In 1975, many residents reported seeing a UFO at Williamstown Lake. In 2016, the Christian organization "Answers in Genesis" (AiG), run by Christian entrepreneur and self-proclaimed Creationist Ken Ham, along with local entrepreneur Mike Zovath, opened a private park with a five-story-high depiction of Noah's Ark from the Biblical book of Genesis, called the "Encounter", near Williamstown, Kentucky. This park was built as an ancillary destination to the Museum, also built and operated by Ken Ham's AiG and opened in 2007 in nearby Boone County, Kentucky. The Ark Encounter cost $125 million to build, and Ham and Zovath secured several millions of dollars in local tax credits on the basis of expected local economic expansion and enrichment that the park would generate for the county as a tourist destination. However, despite the healthy levels of tourists that the park has generated since it opened, local government and business officials have complained that the "Ark Encounter" has failed to deliver on the promised benefits to the community, primarily because the tourists that come to see the park are typically Christian church groups who are bused in and do not avail themselves of local lodging or restaurants during their visit.Ark Encounter hasn’t spurred nearby economy, Richmond Register, 14 June 2017. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water. Adjacent counties *Boone County (north) *Kenton County (northeast) *Pendleton County (east) *Harrison County (southeast) *Scott County (south) *Owen County (west) *Gallatin County (northwest) Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} As of the census of 2000, there were 22,384 people, 8,175 households, and 6,221 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,306 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.31% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,175 households out of which 39.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.10. In the county, the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,438, and the median income for a family was $42,605. Males had a median income of $31,987 versus $23,669 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,776. About 9.00% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over. Education Grant County has six schools: Crittenden Mt Zion (CMZ), Dry Ridge Elementary (DRE), Sherman Elementary (SES), Mason Corinth Elementary (MCE), Grant County Middle School (GCMS), Grant County High School (GCHS) and Williamstown Independent Schools (WES)- (WMS) – (WHS). Grant County's only library is located in Williamstown, Kentucky. Politics Infrastructure Transportation Public transportation is provided by Senior Services of Northern Kentucky with demand-response service. Communities *Corinth *Crittenden *Dry Ridge *Williamstown (county seat) See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Grant County, Kentucky References External links * Historical Texts and Images of Grant County Category:Grant County, Kentucky Category:Counties of Kentucky Category:1820 establishments in Kentucky Category:Settlements established in 1820